Red Sky at Morning
by Jai Akari
Summary: UPDATE! The light that split the sky in half alerted the human population to our presence. Some more than others. It's not fair. We're humans the same as them. Sequel to Pretty in Black.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! Did you all miss me? Welcome to the sequel of **_**Pretty in Black**_**! If you liked the first one, chances are great that you'll like this one too. This story is a combination of the sequel to my failed Lyserg story **_**To the Ends of the Earth**_** and an idea I had when I was writing **_**Pretty in Black**_. **This focuses not only on Horohoro and Rin, but also on Lyserg. So the points of view will be changing from one to the other.**

**Let's get rolling!**Red Sky at Morning

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Chapter 1

_London, England _

_5 years later…_

"Here's the accumulative data from the past four years. I don't think you're going to like it." A stack of neatly bound papers was laid on the desk.

"Thank you." Lyserg Diethel flipped through the papers to a chart in the back and frowned. "Is this right?"

"As far as I know, yes. Some of the info we had previously collected was wrong or a dud (those are in the last segment) so I had to go and re-graph everything. So yeah, it's right as far as I know."

Lyserg bit a fingernail thoughtfully as he studied the chart and skimmed through the papers. "The trend is up." He closed the report, rubbed his eyes, and laughed ruefully. "We were such idiots back then. What were we thinking?" He looked up at his assistant, who just shrugged.

"We were kids. It was the Shaman Fight."

"I meant the X-Laws. John should have never activated the X-Laser."

OOO

_Amori Prefecture, Tōhoku Region, Japan_

Rin drew in a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. Even after four years, the Matsumura compound had more or less remained the same if one did not count the number of young shaman that had gathered there for teaching and protection. After the shaman fight had ended (but what that actually meant, no one knew) Rin found herself back home, once again tending to the house and the other mundane chores that was required to put a large house back in order after being left alone for over a little more than a year.

Did time actually move that fast? She didn't know. The horrors of the Fights and the death of Mitoko seemed to have left her in a state of mind that wanted to forget everything and speed up time in order to put a distance between her and the past.

Horohoro had said that it was important to remember these things, no matter how much one wanted to forget; that stories helped future generations not to make the same mistakes their ancestors did. Rin just wished that she had known that sooner.

Rin watched as a troupe of kids ran past her laughing and bidding her a quick greeting and farewell in the same sentence. She smiled. The kids here were wonderful; happy to be able to be who they were without having to worry about what "normal" humans would think. When most of them first came, they were quiet and close, but eventually bloomed after the first month or two. The first students she had and still remained had given the different age and level groups different names and everyone the overall name of "Children of the Mountain", "The Mountain" their name for the compound.

There had been a big fuss over the name, insisting that it was corny, but it stuck nonetheless and there were few complaints. She and Horohoro were known as simply "Sensei" and "Shihan".

She and Horohoro's relationship, forged from the fires of the Shaman Tournament, was stronger now than it was then. Rin had often thought of marriage, for she was now 19, but that dream seemed unattainable at the moment. Her home was here in Amori, while Horohoro's was is Hokkaido. He was often tending to the Fuki fields he and his sister Pirika kept to help the Koropokur, while she remained in the mountains of western Amori caring for the shaman that had taken refuge there to hide themselves from the persecuting eyes of the world.

He often spent a few months there, helping her teach the older children to Hyoi Gattai, Oversoul, among other battle techniques, and the importance of using their talents for the good of man and nature, while she taught the younger ones the finer points, such as how to behave in public, the oneness of a shaman and their spirit ally, and simple tricks. In return for his help, she went to Hokkaido to help with the Fuki fields, bringing some of her students with her.

She sometimes got together with everyone she had known when she first went to Funbari Hill: Yoh, Anna, Ryu, Manta, and Ren, but never stayed long. Yoh and Anna had married a year after the Shaman Fights and had their son, Hana, who was now four, and Funbari Inn was now Anna's dream onsen. Ryu was employed as a chef, and Ren just came by often. Faust VII was also employed there as a doctor; everyone's lives were seemingly back to normal.

Well, as normal as one gets.

"Sensei."

Rin turned her head to acknowledge the voice. It was one of her original students, Yuki. "Yes?"

Yuki pointed a finger in the direction of the front gate. "There's someone at the front gate."

Rin stepped off of the porch on which she had been sitting and stepped into her shoes to investigate. Yuki followed. It was one of the rules here that when someone new arrived, it was to be reported to her or Horohoro, when he was here, and they would carry on from there. It was a measure that ensured the safety of the compound and its inhabitants.

Rin pulled open a door of the gate and was greeted by a mass of red hair. Her eyes widened in surprise at the face she hadn't seen in years.

"Matsua."

* * *

**Huh, huh? You like? Good. I liked it. It took me a while to figure out the ages and stuff and they may or may not be right, but just deal with it. I called it "Mountain" because in my thesaurus, it said "a group of things gathered together haphazardly." (So obviously I'm not referring to the landform.) It seemed appropriate. Uhh, nothing more! Review!**

**Jai Akari**


	2. Chapter 2

**Back again. I'm writing out everything at once so I can change things as needed, so chapters will be posted in pairs. Hopefully.**

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 2

Rin was surprised that she even remembered her former opponent's face, let alone his name. The only time the two of them met was in the preliminary round for maybe 30 minutes; maybe less. He was such an insignificant part of her past life she saw no reason why she should even have remembered him: Matsua Lun. She couldn't say whether or not he had changed much or not considering that she didn't know anything about him.

Yet here he was five years later literally on her doorstep. Matsua just smiled. "Who would have thought?" he asked. "Never in a million years." He remembered her at least.

Rin composed herself. "Matsua Lun. It's nice to see you again. What can I help you with?"

Matsua scratched the back of his head. "Um, I heard through the grapevine that there was a safe place for shaman here in Amori, and I thought that it would be a good place for me to stay for a while until, well, something blows over."

Rin opened the gate wider to allow him in. "Come in." He obeyed and she shut the gate behind him and latched it. A group of bystanders had gathered and stared curiously at the newcomer. Rin could hear some of the girls whispering and giggling. She could see why for Matsua was very handsome. Even Yuki was affected, and she had shown no interest whatsoever in the boys she lived with. Matsua also noticed this and threw them a flashy smile, which sent them into a bout of excited squeals and even more giggling.

This annoyed Rin to no end. She didn't want to have this ladies' man disturbing the peace here; especially if he was going to show off. She cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. "Follow me." She led him into the tea room for a proper reception and discussion. Matsua looked about him, clearly impressed.

"Wow. You seem to be doing very well for yourself."

"My family was rich; to a point." She answered shortly.

"So you just decided to share it with the world?" He seemed amused.

"Not with the world. Just us. Now, if you're going to stay here with us, there are rules you have to obey. They're short and simple."

Matsua lifted a hand to show that he was listening.

"One, don't disturb the peace. That means do not pick fights, use your powers in any malicious way, even as a joke, or flirt shamelessly with my girls." He winced at that. "Two, you have to pull your own weight. Everyone here has an even set of chores that is set in shifts and there can be no pawning off of chores to others. Three, I am in charge here, as well as Usui Horohoro, who is not here at the moment. If someone approaches the gate, it is to be reported to him or me. Everything else you will learn from the others here; especially the older ones." She stopped to the sound of a soft knocking. In English, she answered. "Come in." To Matsua she said, "I hope you can speak English."

"Of course I can." Matsua answered in English.

"Good." She answered back. She turned her attention to the boy who had knocked and silently entered. "Peter, this is Matsua Lun. If you don't mind, please show him around and teach him…" she hesitated and moved her hand in tiny circles to imply that she was having trouble.

"The ropes?" Peter offered.

"That's right." In Japanese, she said to Matusa, "He is teaching me better English. I learned some during the Tournament, but everyone I met spoke Japanese, so I never bothered to learn more. Peter was one of the first who came here. An American, he came here to Japan for the tournament, but couldn't find any way to get in and never got back home. He lives here now."

"Uh huh." Matsua didn't seem impressed. Instead he got up and seemed to be sizing the other boy up. Matsua was taller and more muscled than Peter, who was not intimidated and just stared quietly back.

"Don't let him fool you. He's stronger and cleverer than he looks." Rin informed Matsua with a smile. "You can look around now if you want."

* * *

Lyserg's thumb hesitated above the doorbell of Funbari Inn. Given his past history, he wasn't sure if he even deserved to set foot in Yoh's house, or inn, if you were being technical. He knew that they forgave him, but doubts still terrorized his dreams. What if they really hadn't?

His thumb must have hesitated too long, for a hand wrapped around his and forcibly pressed it down. "If you're going to ring, then ring! Don't just stand there looking like a statue."

"Gwen!" he panicked. It was too late to run away, so he just glared at his red haired companion. The door opened to the pink haired girl, Tamao.

"Diehtel-san! Hello! Come in, Master Yoh is expecting you!" Lyserg was surprised at her. She had never before spoken so directly to him; she usually stuttered and blushed. What time can do to a person…

"Tamao-san, this is Gwen McRae."

"McRae-san! Pleased to meet you." Gwen stared blankly back and quietly looked back at Lyserg who quickly realized his mistake: Gwen couldn't understand a word of Japanese, or they of English.

"Crap. Sorry, I forgot about the language barrier. Gwen, this is Tamao."

"Oh! You were introducing us!" Gwen took Tamao's hand and shook it. "Hello!"

Lyserg sweatdropped. She had a lot to learn.

Tamao led them into the sitting room where they met Yoh sitting on the floor playing with his son Hana. "Hey! Lyserg! Long time no see! What's up?"

"Nothing much. I just brought over something that I think you'll be interested in."

"I remember you! You're the chick from the tournament that brought Yayoi-chan back to us!" Yoh pointed at Gwen and grinned like an idiot.

"I also hope you remember that she can't understand you."

Yoh withdrew his hand but kept grinning. "It's cool. So what do you have?"

Lyserg took a large folder from a bag hanging off of Gwen's shoulder and plopped it onto the table. "Those are some of the records that we've collected since the ending of the tournament and we think that something big might be happening. I want you to see what you think."

Yoh casually flipped through it before shutting it again and looking down at his son. "Hana, go with Tamao-chan outside and play. Find me a big four leaf clover!"

"Okey!" Hana chirped and ran off.

Yoh stood up with a serious look on his face, which honestly scared Lyserg. He looks too much like Hao.

"Every human on that island was killed. As much as I regret it, there's no way anyone could know what happened there. Anna even took care of Manta's father. He won't be talking."

"Then someone else is. Already there's been violence and disappearances. When John activated the X-Laser, it was observed by organizations like NASA and the UN. I think that one of the invading humans survived; got back to the mainland, found someone who would listen and now their trying to figure out the 'Mystery of Tokyo Island'."

"I haven't heard anything particular other than the usual 'I see dead people. No, I'm not crazy, why are you slowly backing away from me?'"

"Well, it probably hasn't made it this far over the ocean. Will you look into it? I guess since you're kind of considered the Shaman King and all, however that worked out."

"Excuse me? I thought _I_ was the Shaman King. I did win the tournament after all."

Lyserg's blood froze in his veins before turning red hot. "Hao." He hissed between his teeth. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"My, aren't we hostile today? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"You killed my parents!"

"You're still holding that against me? It's been what? Thirteen years? Can't you let bygones be bygones?"

"No!"

Gwen, seeing more than knowing that things were going to get bad, jumped in between the two men and gently took Lyserg's arm. "It's alright. Don't get angry. Go outside for a while, please?" Lyserg stiffly nodded and left the room. She immediately felt uncomfortable as the fact that she was stuck in a room with two men she didn't know and couldn't even communicate with entered her brain.

"So I see that little Lyserg finally got himself a girl." Hao said in English. "I always assumed that he was gay."

"What? He got?" Gwen was dumbfounded. "Nobody has me! And he's not!"

"Sorry, my mistake." He sure didn't seem sorry. In fact, he looked amused.

"You're Hao? I remember you. You're evil."

"Evil? That's a pretty strong word. I prefer malevolent."

"Doesn't that mean the same thing?"

"It sounds nicer." He ignored his twin, who was waving his arms about implying that he wanted into the conversation.

"So how do you know our little Lyserg?"

"First saw him when the beam of light split the sky in two and I was returning a little girl back to them. I met him again two years ago when my dad and I were in Europe. Yes, it's was very cliché. I totally agree." She made her explanation quick. "What about you?"

"Oh, I killed his parents and he joined a religious radical group in attempt to kill me."

"What are you saying? Tell me, tell me! I want to know!" Yoh whined.

"Just explaining how we know Lyserg, little brother." He patted his head. "And you shouldn't whine at your age. It's not becoming."

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**It's nice yet hard to be able to work with Hao and even harder still to have him converse with another OC. (Please don't kill me.) The language barrier is going to wreak havoc on my psyche. I can't have **_**everyone**_** be able to speak Japanese or somehow magically be able to understand each other. Yes, this is the very same Gweneth McRae from my failed story **_**To the Ends of the Earth**_**. I just changed her background. There might be more cursing in this one than in its predecessor. Come to think of it, I really should start rewriting that…**

**There are clovers in Japan right? Sorry if that was a really obvious question.**

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello little friends…no I haven't died. A lot of things have been going on and I've just not had a lot of time to get to it. Character issues with Gwen's team and family have been a problem and it's a block I need to get past. I know what I want, but it just includes a lot of research of American folklore. And I'm using the old "my internet is a piece of crap" excuse again as well as the fact that I just got internet on my laptop, where this chapter was written, so that added to the wait. Thanks for waiting.**

**Thank You!**

**KeLpIeenoch****- First reviewer! Yay! Good news: I've finally learned how to spell your name without looking at it! I know! **_**Pretty in Black**_** only seems like yesterday (a very long yesterday)! I'm so happy to be writing again!**

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 3

Lyserg sat nervously outside. What was taking Gwen so long? He had planned on staying here at Funbari but now having discovered that Hao lived there, that option was now obsolete. He had to think of someplace else to stay now; or he could just kill Hao, thus allowing him to be able to stay here. His murderous thoughts were interrupted by the scraping of the sliding door. He expected to see Gwen only saw Yoh which made him even more nervous thinking about Gwen alone with Hao.

"Hao's not going to do anything. I wouldn't worry."

"Given his past history, you can't blame me for being a bit edgy."

"Just think: if he _did_ do something, Anna would be on him like an attack dog."

"That didn't help a whole lot, but thanks anyway. No offense Yoh, but we can't stay here. I had planned on it, but seeing as how you're brother is here…"

"I understand; it's no big deal. If you want you can stay with Rin, you remember her. She's in Aomori, near Omagoshi, maybe you can stay there."

"I wouldn't want to intrude. We'll just get a hotel somewhere."

"Oh, you won't be intruding. She has a lot of people up there. She turned her home into kind of a school for shaman kids. I've only been there once. It's a nice place. She doesn't have a phone or anything, so you're just going to have to show up unexpectedly. She won't mind. Now," Yoh smoothed his hair back as he thought. "You're going to have to take the Tohoku Shinkansen up to Morioka and then the Akita Shinkansen over to Akita, from there I'm sure you can get a bus to Omagoshi, and then go east into the mountains. You'll have to figure it out for yourself from there. Are you going to stay for dinner? Tamao's cooking is really good."

"Wasn't Ryu cooking for you a while back?" Lyserg vaguely remembered Ryu saying how he was going to be a sushi chef and work here.

"Yeah, but he's on a road trip. He takes off every once in a while."

Lyserg weighed the pros and cons of staying for dinner. Con: Hao. Pro: less money to spend on food from the amount he was able to exchange; and they had been traveling all day. _An hour or two won't kill me. Hopefully._ He decided. "Sure. We have been on the road all day. It will give us some time to relax before we start off again."

That pleased Yoh immensely. "Great! Come back in, we'll tell Tamao and maybe play a game. Hana is good at that memory card game. Maybe you can beat him."

* * *

"So, Gwen, where are you from?" Hao was the only one who could carry on a conversation with her without having to translate everything. Needless to say, this interaction annoyed Lyserg to no end.

"Charleston, South Carolina. I'm S.O.B."

Hao seemed befuddled. Lyserg just laughed to himself.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Charleston. South Carolina. United States. East coast."

"Yeah, I get that, but…S.O.B?"

"Oh, I see what you're asking. S.O.B., South of Broadway. It's where I live with my dad. It's the good side of town with the historic district and all. And please don't make a joke of it."

"No worries. And what can you do?"

"Is it really necessary to ask all of these questions?" Lyserg asked irritably. "What happened to the whole mind reading thing?"

"I'm just being friendly. Besides, that gets tiring after a while. One has to have real conversation you know."

Yoh hung onto every foreign word he could to try to grasp what they could possibly be talking about. _Why doesn't Hao or Lyserg just translate?_ He wondered. He looked to Anna who was helping Hana with his dinner. She merely glanced at him, seemingly uninterested.

"Hao. Translate for your brother and keep him in the conversation if you will." Her command was calm, but with the right amount of iciness that only Anna could achieve. Hao, steady on the outside, faintly shivered deep inside of him and did as she asked. This made Yoh feel better about being more or less left out.

"What every other basic shaman can do. I can also work with witch balls which made me an arsenal of sorts for my former team in the tournament." Lyserg was kind enough to keep Yoh informed.

"Team Mystique. I vaguely recall you. No offense, but you were one of the teams that, shall we say, held no merit in my eyes for my kingdom."

"None taken. We would have rather died than join you anyway."

"Then I guess it's a good thing for you that I didn't get what I wanted."

"PLEASE, let us talk about something else." Lyserg griped.

"Alright, if you say so. So Lyserg, how's your love life going?" Hao chirped. Lyserg fumed and Gwen blushed. Anna secretly smiled to herself as she continued to help her son with his meal.

* * *

Rin watched to two men leave the room and she let out a breath of air. She could see that Matsua would be a problem if his behavior at the gate proved anything, and she hoped he wouldn't be. She usually let Horohoro deal with rambunctious males. But why he was here, well, it didn't matter too much; she always received hiding shaman despite their backgrounds. She's only had to kick one out of the compound though, a few years ago, when they got a little _too_ comfortable.

_Well_. She got up and moved to the outside porch to watch everyday life here go on. _There is nothing to worry about. No one could find this place even if they were looking for it._ She assured herself. Yet why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? What kind of trouble did Matsua get himself in? She started to wish that Horohoro was with her to reassure her that everything was all right. She absent mindedly rubbed the scar covering her arm.

* * *

**Thank you! I present chapter three! Take a bow. It's finally here. We love Hao.**


	4. Chapter 4

**What is the point of a shoe rack if the only shoes that will fit in it are elf shoes? Seriously. Some of us in the world do wear clunky footwear.**

_**Pestasites japonicas**_** is the scientific name for fuki. A little tidbit to impress your friends with.**

**Thank You!**

**KeLpIeenoch****- Aw. That sucks. I hope you remember it soon. What would I do if you don't?! lol Trouble is **_**always **_**brewing with this group! I present Horohoro. **3

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 4

Horohoro was in a good mood. His fuki fields were successful thanks to luck, good funding and help from students from the Mountain, and soon he and the students were going back to Amori for the summer. He couldn't wait to see Rin again. The old adage was right: absence did make the heart grow fonder. For the past few months Pirika had been teasing him (maybe?) about when he was going to ask her to marry him so she could have a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews. "Who's going to call me Auntie if you don't?" she had complained. It wasn't a bad idea, and he had been considering it for a long time now. He just didn't want to tell his little sister because then she would start planning and plotting everything down to the last infinitesimal detail. He didn't doubt that she already had one of those scrapbooks entitled _My (Oniichan's) Wedding_.

Kororo chirped to remind him that it was time to put up for the night. He was in the fields checking things and generally admiring his work. The Koropokkur were happy and many had already moved in, much to the delight of Kororo who was eager to have more of her kin present. Horohoro walked the mile back to the house he shared with his sister (he wasn't ashamed to admit it, after all, she did do all of the cooking and cleaning) and the three other shaman he was tutoring. His friend Ren still found it amazing that he taught. "I never thought you had the brain capacity." Well, it wasn't like he was teaching physics or anything; it was simply shamanism, what he had been taught since he was born.

"I'm back Pirika!" he yelled as he shut the front door. He could smell food and his stomach growled. No surprise there. Walking into the kitchen, he found everyone already sitting at the table. "Aw man, you all didn't eat without me again did you?" Pirika sniffed sarcastically.

"Yes. We ate without you because I cannot bear to eat with by big brother. Sit down. I just got everything ready." He did. "And we only ate without you that one time because you were so late getting in and everything was getting cold."

"Sorry."

"Shihan, are we going to go back to the Mountain tomorrow?" one of the shaman asked.

"The day after. We still have some things to finish here."

"I heard that a new one came in. Apparently he's very handsome with red hair." a girl said.

"Only you would think of that Mizu." The others laughed.

"But it's true! I understand that even Yuki was affected, and you know how she is."

"One mustn't gossip." Pirika singsonged, though Horohoro could tell that she was very interested.

"And I hear that he's running from something."

"Aren't we all?"

"Well, yeah, but when I say something I mean something. Like, big, or something."

And this interested Horohoro. "What do you mean 'big'?"

She shrugged and picked at her food. "I don't know. The air spirits don't say. They only say what they want, and sometimes they're very difficult."

"Mizu, if I heard them all the time like you do, I'd go crazy." One of the boys said.

"That's why _they_ put me into an institution." She muttered. "But I got out. And I'm never going back to anyplace that pokes and prods and asks questions at you. Stupid shrinks."

Pirika rubbed the girl's back reassuringly. "No one's going to take any of you anywhere. Your Sensei and Shihan will make sure of it." She looked meaningfully at her brother.

Horohoro nodded and everyone continued to eat in silence. The sooner they all got back the better. He didn't like the smell of things now.

* * *

"Too bad you all couldn't have stayed longer." Yoh told Lyserg as he and Gwen were about to leave Funbari the next morning.

"Trust me. It's for the better." He glared at Hao, who waved his fingers at him and smirked. "But we'll come back this way again."

"Good! We'll look forward to it!"

"Lyserg, must you take the train? Just say the word and I can transport you immediately to your destination." Hao said dramatically.

"Because I don't trust you to not burn us into crisp along the way." He stated flatly.

"I'm hurt."

"I bet you are."

Hao turned to Gwen. "But Gwen here might tire of being dragged around the country by you. Has she ever teleported before? I doubt it. It's much quicker and very convenient. I promise not to eat anyone's soul."

"That's alright. I would like to see the country. I've never been here before." She said.

"I _would_ be quicker." Yoh mused.

"Don't _agree_ with him!" Lyserg cried.

"But surely if my dear brother agrees with me, you would see that I would do no harm." He held up a hand. "And you will have plenty of time to see the country. When will you ever have the chance to teleport again?"

"Couldn't we, Lyserg? They do have a point."

"B-but."

"And the Bible does say to forgive. 'Pray for your enemies and in doing so heap a mountain of coals onto their heads'."

Lyserg knew he was defeated. One couldn't argue with that. He just wondered if it was starting to get to the point where Hao would be an everyday part of his life. Not that he wasn't before, but just in a more positive way. Maybe the world was about to end and these were the warning signs. "Fine." He resigned.

"Excellent." Hao chirped. "I'll drop you off a mile or so away from my dear Rin's place. I wouldn't want to give her people a heart attack. They're a paranoid group." Flames swept around them and before they knew what was happening, they found themselves dumped onto an overgrown mountain path. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"That was it?" Gwen asked. "I always imagined it to be, I don't know, different. Like what you read in science fiction."

"Please, those things were written by humans with no comprehension of the actual subject. Though some of them I wouldn't doubt were actually shaman."

"Since when do you read science fiction?" Lyserg asked.

"Seeing as how I'm going to be living here with humans, I might as well read their work." He pointed up the path. "Just keep walking that way, and you'll get there with no problem. Many others with less talent than you have made it with no help." Lyserg figured that it was meant to be some form of a compliment.

"Well, then thank you."

"Byebye now." Hao smirked and left in a flash of flames.

"I sure hope I didn't leave anything behind." Gwen mused.

* * *

"Sir, we've detected some activity in the mountains of Amori. It was only a very quick flash, but it was there." A silhouetted figure informed a seated one.

"Did you get an exact location?"

"Um, well, no…but we do know that it was…"

The seated figure slammed its fist down onto the desk. "Did I not say not to bother me unless Subject 102 gave you an exact location?"

"You did, but Subject 102 can only detect so much at one time. We do have him monitoring a good portion of the planet."

"Don't make excuses for him. Come back when you have some real information. We aren't wasting our time and resources scouring that many mountains with only a flash on the 'radar' that could have been a fluke. If it happens again, we will send someone to investigate, but have Subject 102 focus on that region for the time being."

"Yes sir." The man bowed and left. Walking down a white hallway toward a set of doors, he slid his key card through the scanner to enter the restricted area. A solitary light shone onto a desk where a disfigured hand ran itself over a series of maps. "Subject 102." The hand stopped it's wandering. "Focus on the mountains of Amori. The master wants an exact location."

The hand shuffled through the maps and pulled out a map of northern Japan and started it's wandering again. "Very good."

* * *

**Ahhh…things are going to go much faster now that the game is afoot. The Biblical quote Gwen rattled off I'm not sure is the _exact_**** phrase, but it's one that always sticks out most in my mind.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**This was going to be up yesterday, but my Internet was down. Again.

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 5

The walk the rest of the way into the mountains wasn't as difficult as one might have thought and the two shamans arrived at the gates that guarded the compound. Ringing the bell that hung from one of the posts, they waited. Voices were heard yelling for Rin, who promptly opened the gates a crack and a smile spread over her face.

"Lyserg! What a pleasant surprise! Come in." She opened the gate wider to allow them entrance. They were met by a mass of curious faces eager to see the newcomers. "To what do I owe this visit? It's been years since we've talked."

"Well, we were in Funbari, but Hao was there."

"Oh, so you didn't come just to see me? I'm hurt." She joked. "But I understand. I wouldn't want to hang out there long either, but he is Yoh's brother and even I have to admit that he is getting better, almost pleasant to be around. Though I won't admit it." She turned to Gwen and held out her hand. "Hello. I'm Matsumura Rin." She was considerate enough to speak English.

Gwen took it. "Gwen McRae."

"She's the one who brought your cousin Yayoi back to us during the tournament." Lyserg noted.

Rin sobered. "Poor Yayoi. Her sister's death on the beach nearly destroyed her. May the gods damn Tamurazaki." She waved her hand dismissively. "That's all behind us now. They can't touch us now. We won't allow it." She led them away.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Tamurazaki promised that Oyamada Labs would one day use shaman as test subjects in experiments before he killed Hanagumi and almost me. As shaman, we are naturally looked down upon by the rest of the human population and seen as freaks of nature. I opened my home after the tournament to take in runaways and children to hide them from the world. With Horohoro—who should be here a day or two—I'm teaching them to master their abilities and learn how to behave in public so they won't add to the image that we pose a threat to society. Some return to their lives in the outside world, some stay here, usually because they have nowhere else to go."

"That's a noble cause."

"There were so many children in the tournament. I felt sorry for them. Besides," she added with a smile. "It's nice to have this house filled with people again. I'll have someone find you a room. Orikir."

The spirit that had been with her for so many years appeared on her arm, looking as he always had. He squinted at Lyserg. "Hey, it's that green haired X-Laws kid. All grown up. So you didn't die along with the others, huh?" he cackled at his joke.

Rin glared at him. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? It's rude. You should show some respect for the dead."

"I'm a bird and dead myself! Manners hold no weight! I'm also older than you. How many times do I have to tell _you_ that?"

"Age has nothing to do with it! Apologize and take Lyserg to a nice room in the men's section of the house. Get going, Grandpa."

"I apologize. Come on." He mumbled and they moved away.

"I'll take you to your room Gwen." The two women walked side by side in the opposite direction. "I do hope Orikir will keep his beak shut about those things. He does love to stir up mischief."

"I think Lyserg came to terms with what happened a long time ago, but he still has nightmares sometimes, though he won't admit it. I'm hoping his being here will help him some, being with people he knows and loves."

"Not meaning to pry, but are you and he…?"

Gwen laughed. "No. We work together. I'm his assistant. He started his own detective business and when we met again after the tournament, I stayed with him to help. Daddy wanted me to stay in Charleston with him and Uncle Dorian, but I wanted to stay in Britain a little longer. I was going to go back home a few months ago, but then we noticed that…" She trailed off into silence.

"What?"

"Well, I don't think I should say anything here in the open, but it's kind of why we came to Japan in the first place." She lowered her voice. "I don't mean to alarm anyone, but we noticed that some shamans were disappearing and there has been increased violence against us. Lyserg thinks that when John Denbat activated the X-Laser and split the sky in half, it alerted the human population to our presence and when the invasion was halted and all the humans were killed, one managed to escape and spread his story, however unbelievable. Then someone believed him and started this domino effect, keeping it obscure so we won't be tipped off to what is happening. But we found out and we mean to do something about it. That's why we went to Yoh."

"What did he say?"

"Not much. We gave him the intel we gathered, so we're hoping he'll take the situation seriously."

"He will, but he'll be opposed to any fighting. He'll think that maybe we can reason with them and make them see that we're not a threat." She sighed. "I do hope we can settle this without bloodshed, but I don't think we can avoid it. Humans will always be afraid of what they don't understand."

"I just don't understand why they can't see that we've been around and played an important part in history for centuries."

"Because humans only see what they want to. Here we are. I'm just around the corner, so if you need anything, come by and I'll see what we can do."

"Thank you. I'm just glad you can speak English. Only Hao could at Funbari. Most of the time I felt like I was intruding because I don't know anyone. Everyone went through the tournament together, so there's that war buddy bond going on"

"Then we're all war buddies. Everyone went through the same thing."

"Yeah, I know, but Lyserg and his friends went through the worst of it while my team just watched from the sidelines. I guess you could call it survivor's guilt."

Rin was confused. "But they all survived."

Gwen blinked in surprise. "Didn't you know? Those who tried to leave the island were killed. The rest of us holed up in caves and old buildings until it was all over. When it finally was, everyone was sick, dead, or starving and the Patch did nothing to help. After everything was said and done, they just shrugged their shoulders, said, "Better luck next time", and went back to wherever it is they come from. In my eyes, they're about as just as bad as the humans who are killing us."

* * *

"Pirika, stay safe and keep things running smoothly until I get back." Horohoro kissed his sister goodbye as he and the three younger shaman were preparing to leave.

"I will. Oniichan, remember what I told you."

Horohoro sweatdropped. "Please don't beat it into the ground."

Pirika frowned. "I want a sister and Rin's basically family now. I just don't see why you don't just go ahead and ask her."

"Well, maybe I am."

Pirika squealed and latched onto Horohoro. "Yay! Don't worry! I'll take care of everything!"

"Ack! This is why I don't want to tell you anything! You freak out and choke everything to death! And you didn't have to take me seriously!"

"It's alright! I've already made plans." She then pulled a scrapbook out of nowhere entitled _My (Oniichan's) Wedding_. Dear Heaven, she actually made one.

"Piiiirriikka!" Horohoro whined. "Why do you do things like that? Do you know how embarrassing it is? Especially when you go ahead with your schemes and nothing happens?"

"It's called being prepared. Now go! Hurry up and leave so I can have a sister and nieces and nephews and a big family before I'm old."

"You're only 18!"

"So then why aren't you bugging me about when _I'm_ going to get married?"

"Be-cause, well, that's different! Just promise me that you won't do anything without my say so!"

Pirika huffed. "Fine. Have a nice trip." She gave him a final hug before he and his students started their journey back to Mountain.

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**Ok, this was kind of an emo chapter. It wasn't really supposed to turn out that way, but one thing led to another and it helps the plot out and it also kind of gives a look into what I think the survivors of the tournament might just be going through. The manga never tells us what happened to the other shaman on the island, but I figure it couldn't have been good in any form or fashion.**

**Whew, I'm glad I don't have a sibling harassing me about when I was going to get married.**

**Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**FINALLY I'm back! I was on vacation plus the major writer's block AND no freaking Internet AGAIN! I must have rewritten this chapter like 6 times. Ah, the glories of late night inspirations. A little something to tide you over. Sorry the recent chapters have been so short. I promise you all a long chapter soon! The author's note that this chapter replaced has been moved to my profile page.  
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**If iron is supposed to repel spirits, then wouldn't that make Iron Maiden Jeanne totally helpless? Seriously, think about it.

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 6

When Horohoro arrived the next morning with his small group, he went immediately to find Rin. Mizu's words disturbed him in ways that he never dreamed possible. If this guy brought trouble to them all he was going to freeze him into a little ice cube and smash him into tiny shards. "Rin!" he saw the door to her room was opened and stepped inside. Rin turned and smiled widely. "I'm home."

"Horo-chan!" RIn launched herself into his arms and gave him a big kiss. _Crap, how on earth did I end up with such a wonderful girl?_ He thought blissfully.

"Did you give Pirika my gift? I hope you didn't annoy her too much and whine about the meals she made you. She told me that if you didn't come in so late they wouldn't be cold. I didn't believe it at first because you are never late to a meal: you're the first one at the table!" _But she does start to sound like my sister at times. It's almost scary. At least she doesn't sound like Anna. I would definitely curl myself up into a corner and cry. Poor Yoh… Scary thoughts aside…_

"I've missed you too." He kissed her forehead. "We have to talk." He held Rin at arm's length. Seeing he was serious, she stepped away from him and slid her door shut so they could have some privacy.

"What's wrong?"

"Mizu said that a guy with red hair came."

"It's not like it's a big secret or anything. His name is Matsua Lun, I fought him in the preliminary matches." She paused. "Why are you interested in him?"

"I don't like the smell of him. If he's running from something big, like Mizu said, then I don't want him endangering everybody here. Especially you."

"Horohoro, you don't know that. I have faith that we'll be well hidden and protected here. I don't mean to sound like I'm not respecting your opinions; it's just that no one has been able to find us."

"But what is someone was able to? We don't have the manpower to defend ourselves. There is only you and me and maybe a few older kids that could actually fight if it came down to it. I just think that we should be prepared and keep an eye on Matsua." He knew how stubborn Rin could be: she has too much confidence in the security of these mountains where she herself lived unseen for years. Even if she did know about a threat.

Rin swallowed and remained silent, obviously mulling over what he just said. "Could you call Mizu to me please? I would like to talk to her alone for a while. I think that things have just gotten more complicated."

* * *

Matsua watched as the blue and black haired guy left Rin's room, came back with some girl, and left again. He didn't know what was going on, but he could always find out. He rubbed the back of his neck and winced at the wound there. _Damn needles._ He left his spot and wandered the grounds, ignoring the tittering of the girls. He didn't feel like trying to get their attentions today anyway. He had bigger fish to fry. He looked for the guy with the green hair that looked somewhat like a girl. He thought he looked familiar, but he couldn't be sure. Not until he saw him again.

* * *

Horohoro was surprised to see his old friend Lyserg again so soon. And with a friend. A _girl_friend, he joked. That's not funny Horohoro. Lyserg didn't really see the need as of yet to tell his friend exactly why he was here. No need to ruin a nice day with such melancholy talk. Instead they walked around and talked of old times. Gwen felt a little left out since she didn't know about half of the stories told, but Lyserg was grateful enough to include some more recent stories that she had had a part in. She offered her stories from living in Charleston with her dad and his friend Dorian. "What about your mom?"

"My parents are divorced. My mom lives in Mississippi with her family now. She's not a shaman, so I guess the whole supernatural thing was too much for her. She doesn't like it that I'm a shaman, but I still talk to her over the phone occasionally."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. At least I didn't have to go through the whole "who gets the kid" drama: dad's a shaman and most in his circle of friends and family are too. It was a better environment for me being with people who understood the situation. Plus I love Dori! I often call him 'Dori the Explori'! He hates it but he knows it's true! I'm just careful not to call him that in front of people." They all laughed at the reference to the little kid's show. How embarrassing it must be to a grown man. They chatted on happily in each other's presence. Horohoro introduced people here and there and often scooped up a child when they ran passed and carried them upside down for a while, much to the kid's pleasure, then to be put back down giddy and giggly.

Horohoro wished that everything and everyone could stay this happy and innocent. He knew Lyserg was happy, but he also knew that he still must carry all the pain from when he was a kid. Stuff he can't and most likely won't talk about. He was also too involved in his job. In Horohoro's opinion, he really needed to find himself a girl. All of that work was going to turn his hair grey.

"What about my hair turning grey?"

Crap! Had he actually said that out loud? He thought he had gotten over that habit! How to fix the situation? How to fix this awkward situation? Maybe it would be best to play dumb. "What are you talking about? I didn't say anything."

"You said my hair would turn grey!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yeah, you did!"

"Are you that fussy about your hair?"

"No!"

"Then why are you making a big deal about it?"

"I'm not! I just asked you a question!"

"It sounds like you were getting defensive to me."

"I think your now starting to sound like Hao."

Horohoro recoiled in horror. "NO! Anything but that! I apologize to the world for starting to sound like him!"

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"Sir. Here are the profiles that you requested." The Silhouette handed a stack of folders to the man in the seat. He opened one and scanned its contents. A picture fell out and Seated picked it up and studied it. A smile crept over his face as he realized who it was. He set the picture down and slid it towards Silhouette. "This one will be a great asset to us. I want you to spread rumors that his father is alive. Make sure to be extremely careful! We don't want him to see us coming." Lyserg's face stared out from the glossy paper. Oyamada Matsumi smiled to himself.

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**It's late, and I'm scared that some of these sentences might not make a lick of sense. My characters always seem to be missing a parent, or both. Usually by death. I guess I just don't like messing with parents. Gwen's parents are the only ones that are alive and well and the first to be divorced. Wow, I've broadened my horizon…maybe next time both parents will be in the picture. Gwen's mom **_**might**_** show up, but don't hold your breath. Uh oh, Rin and Horohoro are keeping things from each other. I don't think that it will go over too well. I like Matsua. For some odd unintentional reason, he reminds me of Gambit. Which is weird because I didn't have Gambit in mind when I created him.**

**Please review! Constructive comments and random facts about anything are always welcome! ******

**-Jai Akari**


	7. Chapter 7

**Double update! I'm so proud of meself!

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 7

Matsua walked the streets of the small town of Omagoshi breathing air other than that of the compound. Rin had told him numerous times that he should not go anywhere where he could get into trouble, but he didn't listen to her of course. How much trouble could he possibly get into in such a small place? That's also why he had snuck out: the thrill of getting out and in unnoticed. Besides, his feet were itching terribly they wanted to walk unfamiliar ground so much. It had been horrible at that concrete barracks he had been confined in along with so many others. He didn't know why those scientists looking people had been so interested in them to begin with. He didn't even really remember how he came to be there in the first place. He had been at home playing a video game hadn't he? Or had he been watching TV? Yeah, that was it. He thought he had fallen asleep and woken up in some sort of nightmarish dream. His mom had always told him that some of those movies would rot his brain. Then he realized that it wasn't a dream. It was reality and it scared the hell out of him: white rooms, exam tables, x-rays, needles putting stuff in and taking stuff out, his spirit ally nowhere to be seen or felt, dark cells with other people he assumed were also shaman like himself.

He never saw any of the 'doctors' faces. They all wore surgical masks, which made him _very_ uneasy. They took one boy from the cell he shared with maybe 4 others. He expected him to be brought back again in a few hours all drugged up like always. Hours and days passed, and he never came back. He didn't think about what had happened. No one thought about it and no one asked. They didn't even talk to each other.

How long had he been in there?

How did he escape to begin with?

What did they even want with them?

And what had started it all?

He let the questions just hang in the air as he bought something to eat from a vendor. He started his walk back to the Matsumura compound, taking his time while eating his food and practicing expulsing fireballs of bright red mana. He had to admit, the Matsumura girl who ran the compound _was_ cute and the guy she was with now didn't look like much to him. _It would be a fun game to play, getting on that guy's nerves. Maybe I can get a good fight while I'm at it. I haven't had one since the tournament.

* * *

_

Something tickled at the back of Lyserg's mind. Was something coming? He took out his pendulum and with the help of Morphine, scanned the immediate area. Nothing in particular showed up, except for the normal blips of _ki_ from the shaman already here. He brushed it off and continued flipping through his book.

* * *

Manta shut the front door of his house and walked down the sidewalk towards Yoh's house—inn. He hadn't seen his friend for weeks because of school and work and stuff. He didn't really worry about Anna putting him to work every time he came over like she did when they were younger because she now took her position as a wife and mother seriously. Tamao still did most of the cooking and housework, but Anna helped some. Tamao also had a starting career as an Enka singer, which is very surprising coming from a girl who used to be so shy and timid.

"Yoh!" He changed his shoes at their front entrance and stepped inside.

"Hey Manta! In here!" Yoh's voice came from the main room. He was playing with Hana. "What's up?"

"Where's Anna?"

"Oh, she's watching her soaps and possibly plotting some sort of training session for me."

"Poor guy."

Yoh shrugged. "It's not so bad anymore. Besides, she's been incorporating Hana into them so he can learn to be a strong shaman too. Isn't that right Hana?" Hana stood up on his four year old legs and flexed his arms.

"I'm gonna be strong! Like daddy and Uncle Hao!"

_And hopefully not as lazy or demented._ Manta sweatdropped and then yelped when a pair of hands was placed on his shoulders.

"Still haven't grown from the time we saw each other last. Faust was right: it would be interesting to know why you're so short." Hao pondered.

"H-Hey! M-my dad's short too! As well as my sister!"

Hao snorted. "Ah yes, Oyamada Matsumi: the founder and owner of the Oyamada Corporation. How is the old man by the way?"

"Busy. Like always."

"Hmm. I wouldn't doubt that. Such a busy little bee." Hao smiled and sauntered off into the kitchen.

"What did he mean by that?" Manta asked Yoh, who just shrugged to the best of his ability as Hana was perched on his shoulders.

"He's probably still holding a grudge. Don't take it personally."

Manta joined Yoh and his son on the floor. "So how's life with Hao?"

"As normal as it can get I suppose. Anna doesn't like having him around, but where else can he go? Besides, I like having him here. It's nice to be able to be with the brother you never knew you had. Even if he did try to eat your soul once." He grinned. "Hana, how do you like Uncle Hao?"

"Uncle Hao has the biggest spirit I've ever seen! He's awesome!"

"Just don't say that in front of your mother okay?"

"Mama doesn't like Uncle Hao." Hana informed Manta. "She threatens to kill him. Mother is scary. So are her shikigamis." All three shuddered at the same time.

"You missed Lyserg by a few days Manta. He had that red head girl that brought Yayoi-chan back with him."

"Why? Are they dating?"

"Nah. Apparently they work together. Anyway, he brought me a big folder filled with a bunch of graphs that he's been collecting that he wanted me to look at, but you know that I have no attention span for such technical stuff."

"What was it about?"

"From what I did read, the rising violence against known shaman and their disappearances."

"Here?"

"From the western countries I'm assuming. You know how far he can see now that he's gotten older. I'll bet in a few years time he won't even need his pendulum anymore. Then he'd be like a hard-core tracking system."

"I think that that would be bad. I mean then people would try to get hold of him and make him find stuff"

"Yeah. You're right. It was a cool thought though."

"So where is the folder anyway?" Manta got up to retrieve it.

"Um…in…uh, well…"

"YOU FORGOT?"

"I'm sorry! You know my memory doesn't hold stuff like that! I had put it on the table there!" he pointed to the only table in the room.

Manta sighed and sifted through the books that had piled up there. "Who the heck is reading all these books?"

"Hao. He thought that it would be good to expand his mind since he's going to be living among humans from now on."

Manta pushed aside H.P. Lovecraft, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Issac Asimov to name a few before he finally picked up a thick white binder. "He really needs to put them in his room." He opened it and scanned through everything, his face growing darker with each turn of the page. "Yoh, this looks like some pretty serious stuff. What are you going to do about it?"

Yoh looked sad. "I have absolutely no idea. I don't want this blowing into a complete war and I don't want to kill any humans. The island was bad enough. I didn't like doing it, but then it was necessary."

"But it was Hao that killed them. Not you."

"I allowed it to happen. I knew what would happen if I didn't."

"Apparently not everyone died then."

"No. Apparently not." Yoh felt bad that it was probably the first time he actually wished someone had died.  


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**I think this was longer. Yay for me. Um, not much to say except that it's late again. OOOOO! Matsua is going to be bad! Hao fan girls: scream "We love Hao!"**

**Review!**

**-Jai Akari**


	8. The Cloak

**Oh my goodness! Could it be? An update? After so long? Kind of. I feel really bad that nothing has been coming so I decided to write this for you. College has been sucking all creativity from me in the forms of essays on a variety of topics that I couldn't care less about (curse you vampires for being such a modern-day cultural sensation!!!) So here is a little oneshot thing that may not make any sense, but it has Lyserg and Gwen in it and it's been floating in my head for a while, so it's a little bit humorous. I hope. Anyway, you know that they must have gotten into an argument about something, right?

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Red Sky at Morning

The Cloak

"Gwen!" Lyserg yelled in frustration. No answer. "Gwen!" Walking into the living room, he found her reading while listening to some music (rather loudly, as he could hear it coming from the earbuds). No wonder she didn't hear him. Jabbing at the small music player, the music suddenly died and Gwen issued a moan of frustration.

"Lyserg, what was that for? It was just coming to my favorite song!"

"I've been calling you for the last five minutes. You didn't answer."

"What do you want?"

"Have you seen my cloak?"

"Hall closet." Gwen reached over to tap the 'play' button on the player, but her hand was stopped by Lyserg's.

"Not the black one. My favorite green one."

Gwen crinkled her nose. "The plaid green one?"

Lyserg nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. Have you seen it?"

"Oh, that one. I washed it." She turned back to her book.

"What?! You washed it?! It wasn't dirty!"

"Wasn't dirty?" Gwen asked in disbelief. "You've been running around London in that all month and it hadn't been washed once to my knowledge!"

Lyserg was indignant at the insult to his favorite garment. "It wasn't dirty! How did you even get your hands on it anyway?"

Gwen waved an arm in frustration. "You left it hanging on a chair in the kitchen! What did you expect me to do with it?"

"Not wash it!"

"Please, it's not like it's the end of the world to have a clean cloak. And I patched it up as well. A hole was starting to wear in it."

"You can't even sew! Remember the time when you tried to fix the eye on your teddy bear?"

"That was my first time. Don't insult a woman's handiwork, you haven't even seen it yet. Trust me; you'll be a lot happier with a clean, mended cloak."

"But I'm miserable now!"

"Just wait a while and then you can get it out of the dryer."

Lyserg huffed and plopped himself down on the sofa. "Fine."

They sat there in total silence until it was broken by the distant buzzing of the dryer signaling clean, warm clothes. Lyserg jumped up and ran to claim his prize from the grip of the machine. Gwen watched him run off and sighed. "Why are men so weird about their laundry?" Lucy, her spirit ally, materialized 'sitting' on the sofa.

"I don't know. Men in my time were not like that. They hopefully appreciated the prospect of clean clothing. Women seemed to be doing laundry and mending all of the time and it was hard, tedious work. You are lucky to have machines to do it for you. He should be thankful that you were willing to do it for him."

"Thank you Lucy. It's nice to have another woman's opinion in this house of men."

"But maybe you should have mentioned that you ran out of patches for the cloak and had to use a patch shaped like a cat."

"Hmm. I guess I should have, but I didn't want to make the situation any worse by mentioning it. Besides, he'll discover it soon enough and I'll just replace it later."

Their conversation was cut short by Lyserg's screaming of "NOO! WHAT IS THIS ON MY CLOAK! I CAN'T WEAR IT LIKE THIS! GWEN, DON'T TOUCH MY LAUNDRY EVER AGAIN! YOU'RE SUCH A CLEAN FREAK!"

Gwen cleared her throat, said "He found it", and turned her music back on.

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**There we go. Something to tide you over. This was supposed to take place in London when Gwen, William (her father), and Dorian (father's friend) were over there after they had met Lyserg and were working together for a short period of time. Hence the reason Gwen said "in this house of men". Basically, she takes care of the house stuff like cooking and cleaning (not saying that no one ever helps out once in a while). Crazy men-folk. Some of them would die if not for us. Lol. Please don't kill me if you're a guy reading this. Lucy will be fully introduced hopefully next chapter.  
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**I hope to update and finish this story! Fully expect some chapters around Thanksgiving and Christmas! Gripe at me and give me a kick in the bum if there are none.**

**Jai Akari**


	9. Chapter 8

**I'm finally back. After nothing coming into my brain and college being a total takeover of my time. Not to mention the other things that life throws at you to keep you busy. I am so sorry about the long wait.**

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 8

Matsua had successfully reentered the compound unnoticed and strolled the paths like nothing was wrong, though his thoughts from earlier were still bugging him to no end. He wished he knew what exactly had happened to him, but he had the feeling that he should be grateful that he could not remember much. Anyway, he had his spirit ally back and he was free; that's all that mattered.

A spot of green caught his eye and giving it another look, he saw that it was that green haired guy that he looked for the other day. Damn, did he look familiar, but he had never seen him before, had he? Nevertheless, he changed course and headed towards him. Maybe if he talked to him he might know why he seemed familiar.

"What are you reading?" He asked, though he did not care for books.

The guy looked up and closed the book. "Oh, just Sherlock Holmes. I hadn't read it in a while so I thought I'd give it another go."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, I'm Matsua Lun." He held out a hand.

The greenie got up from where he sat and took the extended hand. "Lyserg Diethel"

"You look familiar. Have you ever been to Hong Kong?" Matsua asked anyway, though the chance of him ever seeing him there was very slight.

Lyserg smiled. "Can't say that I have. Sorry."

"It's alright. It doesn't matter. When you say Diethel, you mean big dowsing family Diethel, right?"

This question took Lyserg aback. He didn't think that his family name was that widely known, especially in a faraway city like Hong Kong. "Well, we're not as big as you think. Right now, the only dowser is me. How do you know about us anyway?"

Matsua casually shrugged. "Word travels, as it does. I would have to say that you were known in the Tournament with the X-Laws group. No offense, but most disliked you because of that association."

Lyserg's stomach twisted with the mention of the X-Laws as some…unpleasant...memories came back. "None taken. I don't blame them for their thoughts. I would have disliked me as well, if I were someone else. But I've moved on from that. It's in the past."

Matsua saw how uncomfortable Lyserg became when the Tournament was mentioned despite how he tried to hide it. He didn't know why, but something was urging his words on. "Most were glad when they died. They felt that they were just as bad as Hao, if not worse. I'm sure many would have joined him if it meant…" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Lyserg grabbed him with a strength that surprised him.

"Don't you know to respect the dead and leave well enough alone?" Lyserg said quietly, trying to keep his temper in check. "If you feel that way, then why are you even bothering to talk to me?" He released Matsua with a small shove. "Now go away and do something constructive to help better the prosperity of this place. You have a safe place here. Don't ruin it by being rash." Lyserg turned and walked away. Matsua stared after him and threw a ball of red mana at the back of the other man's head.

Morphine, who had not lost any of her excellent senses, warned her master of the incoming threat. Lyserg quickly Oversouled and turned to block the attack. He wouldn't use his Angel here as Morphine had defeated opponents much stronger than this guy and he didn't want to damage anything. He released the pendulum which flew faster than the eye could see in a series of twists and turns that eventually came together as a tight wire web, effectively trapping Matsua's hands at his sides. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by attacking me, but you should know not to attack someone with more experience than you. Besides, I have no time to fight someone so small." He released him once again and gave him the same command to go away. It was only after Matsua left did Lyserg realize what he had just said and it disturbed him greatly.

_So small…

* * *

_

Matsua once again left the compound and ran out into the surrounding woods. What was the matter with him? He didn't want to attack Lyserg, who was obviously much stronger than him. He wasn't that stupid. He had just felt so angry. Why did he say those things? He picked up a rock and threw it at one of the many trees, where it ricocheted off violently. He reached up and scratched at the small bump on the back of his neck where so many needles had pierced the skin. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that something was embedded there.

He knew those people had been human; they had no aura of the other world around them in the slightest bit. Why did they care so much about shaman anyway?

* * *

Subject 102, focusing on the Amori area as ordered, stopped its activities and wearily pressed a button embedded in the desk. A harsh voice sounded over the speaker system that the button had turned on. "What do you want?"

In a voice just as weary, Subject 102 replied, "I caught another signal from Amori. The flashes are appearing to become more frequent. Mr. Oyamada would like to know that." Subject 102 paused before continuing. "I'd also like a glass of water and something to eat before I continue." It decided to try its luck with these people who kept it so dark and secluded a room, forcing it to do their will. Subject 102 couldn't remember the last time it had seen sunlight.

"You'll get it when you get it. Keep working like you have been ordered to do." The voice snapped before communications to Subject 102's room was closed. Subject 102 sighed in defeat and continued its work.

* * *

Mizu ran down the pathway to the part of the house where Sensei, Shihan, and their guests were quartered. The wind voices had been unusually chatty these past few days and she had lost a lot of sleep listening and writing down their chatter so she could remember everything in case it was deemed important enough to bring to Sensei and Shihan. This seemed like it was important; if not, it was at least interesting. Turning the corner, she slowed down to a respectful walk before coming to Rin's quarters.

"Sensei? Are you there? May I come in?"

Rin's voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Yes, Mizu, come in." Mizu slid into the large room and closed the door behind her.

"I have news," she said in a low voice, "that I thought that you and Shihan would like to know."

Rin stopped what she was doing and sat down across from Mizu, who continued. "I don't know if it is totally important or not, but I thought I'd tell you anyway. These past few days, the wind voices have been very talkative. So much that I haven't gotten much sleep." (Rin had noticed that she looked unusually tired when she came in.) "Anyway, remember when I said that Matsua was running from something

big?"

Rin nodded to indicate that she did.

"Well, the wind voices aren't being too cooperative when I ask them about it (but there's no surprise there), but they are hinting that something is brewing in the south; the direction from which Matsua came. I know that I shouldn't be saying this, but I think it would be best if he left. I think that he is bringing bad luck with him."

Rin noticed the distress in the girl's voice and put a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. "I'm not in the habit of kicking people out of the compound without good reason. I heard your words and I will think about them, but for now, Matsua deserves our protection from whatever he is running from. Everything will be fine. You'll see."

Mizu nodded and got up to leave. Stopping at the door, she turned to leave. "Sensei, there is one more thing I should mention. Do you know anyone by the name Liam?"

Rin thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't. Why?"

Mizu shrugged. "I don't know. The wind voices are saying that someone named Liam is alive."

* * *

**OK! Review please!**


	10. Chapter 9

**BAAACCCCKKKKK! Now, I'll be horribly honest with you: I did have thoughts about just ending this for good since I haven't written anything in such a long time. I apologize profusely. To be honest again, I don't even know how many of my original readers are still here anymore, or how many people are even reading this anymore, which makes me sad to think about. If you are there, give a shout out to me! I'll greatly appreciate it since this is my finale!**

**After posting the last chapter, I realized that I did not do my normal thanks to those who had reviewed! So I shall do that now for the past few chapters.**

**Thank you!**

**IllustratedAbbysharrat****- I know I already responded to your reviews, but you have stuck with this for a long time! Thank you for your patronage! It is readers like you who give me reason to continue!**

**RoseblossomWarrior****- Ren will always show up, don't you worry about that! It is not **_**Shaman King**_** without Ren. Unfortunately, he will not be a big character here, but he will have his own part in the story.**

**Lydiacatfish****- Thank you! The air of mystery is what I was aiming for. I am glad to see that I have accomplished my goal. I was worried that some things were see-through.**

* * *

Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 9

Lyserg was in a funk for some unknown reason, Gwen noted to herself as they all sat around the private table in Horohoro and Rin's quarters for dinner.

The air at the table was thick with apprehension because of the events of the past few days. The once peaceful air of the compound seemed think and restraining, but Rin could not think of anything that could dissipate it, especially if it would put the place in jeopardy. No one said anything when Lyserg got up and left or when Gwen excused herself and followed him. In fact, no one had said anything all evening.

"Lyserg." Gwen said when she finally caught up to him. "Stop." He reluctantly complied. She moved in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He muttered.

"Like hell there isn't."

Lyserg looked up surprised, because Gwen rarely, if ever, cursed.

"You've been moping all evening. You're acting like you do when Hao's around."

"It's Hao that's the problem!" He angrily blurted out. Gwen said nothing and let him continue. "All my life he's been this shadow looming over everything I do! Why do you think that I left the house so often? I can't even think straight knowing that he's still alive." He knew he was ranting, but he didn't care. "He killed my parents like it was a game to him and still acts like it! He says that it's all in the past and bygones should be bygones, but not once has he shown any kind of remorse, or given any kind of apology even if he didn't mean it!" He stopped to breathe.

"This isn't about Hao, is it?" Gwen asked. "You were perfectly fine until a few hours ago, so don't give me that 'blaming Hao' crap. What's wrong with you?"

Lyserg breathed slowly out through his nose before replying much more calmly and quietly than before. "I got into kind of a fight today with the new guy, Matsua. Actually it wasn't even a fight. Just a…disagreement. Besides, he attacked me first, but it was nothing considering how low-class of a shaman he is compared to me." He wasn't _that _humble. He was perfectly aware how powerful he was compared to other shaman, and he wasn't going to pretend like he wasn't.

"So why are you staking all of this on Hao?"

"Because of what _he_ said! After I showed Matsua that he couldn't defeat me, _I_ said it too!"

"Said what?"

"So small…"

* * *

After Lyserg and Gwen left, Horohoro and Rin were left by themselves. They didn't say anything to each other for a long time, until Rin quietly broke the silence.

"Mizu came to see me today. She had news."

Horohoro stopped mid-chew before swallowing. "What news?"

"That Matsua is a harbinger of bad luck. She says that something is happening in the south, which happens to be the direction in which Matsua came." She lifted up her eyes to meet his. "And that Liam is alive."

Horohoro would have choked if he had still been eating. "_Diethel_? Lyserg's dad?"

"I don't know. Mizu never gave any specifics and I didn't know that that was his father's name. Besides, why would such news be here in Japan anyway? He died, and for all we know, is still buried in England alongside his wife."

"Have you mentioned this to him?"

"No. I don't want to get his hopes up if it turns out to be someone entirely different."

"Why on earth would Mizu's spirits even _bother_ to mention it then if it didn't pertain to us?"

Rin slammed a hand down on the table. "I don't know! The only thing I know is that this poses a danger to us! Matusa has left the compound twice today already and is causing trouble! If what Mizu says is true, then he has to leave."

Horohoro crossed his arms. "I thought you didn't want him to leave."

Rin hesitated. "What's that supposed to mean? If you're implying that I've developed a crush on him, then you have a lot to think about. The purpose of this place is to give shelter to those who need it. If Matusa is going to destroy that, even if he doesn't mean it, then he has to leave. The good of the many outweighs the good of the one."

Actually, Horohoro had been a little jealous of Matsua being around Rin when he was gone. Hearing her say that she wanted him gone secretly pleased him, even though he knew it was a pointless jealousy. He softened his voice. "I'm sorry I said that. It's just that you've been so passionate about things here you forget sometimes that this place isn't a fortress. If other shaman attack, we can deal with it. But you know for a fact that we're more vulnerable to regular humans and their weapons."

The memory of Tamurazaki on the beach flashed through her mind. "I know. We can't risk it. I'll have Peter go look for Matsua and bring him back here. He'll be gone in the morning."

* * *

Matusa sat on a rock outside of the walls absentmindedly throwing off random bursts of mana. It calmed him down to do so. Hearing something rustle behind him he quickly spun around to find the American Rin had introduced to him a day or two ago. What was his name? Peter, that was it. "What do you want?"

"Rin asked me to bring you back. She knows that you've left the compound twice already. She wants to talk to you."

"About what?"

"She didn't say. She just told me to bring you back."

Suddenly, Matsua realized that he could kill this boy here and now and no one would ever know it was him. He was even positive that he could make it look like an accident. _No! No, stop. He never did anything to you! Why am I thinking these things?_ He felt the way he did when he attacked Lyserg: irrational and angry for no good reason. He took a deep breath. _Just breathe. Everything's fine. Just get up and go back._ Getting to his feet, he realized just how unstable he was. His neck burned, his heart was racing—it felt like he was dying. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and followed Peter back into the walls of the compound and into the main reception hall, where he saw Rin and Horohoro, waiting for him.

He turned to Peter. "You just said that she wanted to talk to me! Not both of them!"

Peter replied as calmly as he could. "I was just told by her to get you and bring you here. That was it. Nothing else involves me."

"Matsua! Sit down and be quiet!" Rin ordered. She was losing patience with him. "You're behavior here is unacceptable. You came here to be safe, but as I hear it, you're bringing your problems to us and disturbing the peace. I know I said that you could stay, but now I believe that you'll be better off somewhere else. I've only had to ask one other before you to leave and I won't hesitate to do it again."

He sat as quietly as he could, given the enormous amount of tension he was feeling. "You don't…understand. I can't help it. It feels like I'm going crazy! It feels like I'm dying!" He punched the floor as hard as he could, effectively breaking the boards under his fist in the process.

Rin looked at Horohoro with a surprised look on her face. He shook his head but Rin got up and went over to Matsua anyway. "Matsua, it has come to my attention that your continued presence here will sooner rather than later bring unwanted attention to us. It would be best for everyone, you included, if you left. Go home to your family."

Matsua, through clenched fists and teeth, nodded, mumbled a forced apology, and took his leave. Rin sighed deeply and inspected the cracked wood of the flooring. Pinching the brow of her nose between her fingers, she asked Horohoro to ask the Wood-Shaman to repair the floor. With that, she wearily retired to her rooms.

* * *

**Tensions are running a bit high here, but considering the planned storyline, it's to be expected. Again, sorry this took so long to do, but serious writer block plus many other life factors prevented me from finishing this in a timely manner. My plan now is to finish this up. No quitting! Then, at a leisurely pace, fix the mistakes I made in **_**Pretty in Black**_** & re-post that.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Wow, finally to a double digit chapter! Okay, this is where I buckle down and really start bringing in the artillery. Maybe even literally, who knows?**

**I know it's an old excuse, but it nevertheless holds true: life. It is a cruel twist of irony that I'm in school for creative writing and it is that that is preventing me from working on this. I'm also currently working on a fiction and a play that has taken up a lot of my writing time. And **_**SWTOR**_**. Not gonna lie.**

**Please note: when the non-native English speakers here speak English, I'm going to write it in full English format instead of broken English for the sake of understanding on the reader's part. The reader will have to use his/her imagination about how the words are "really" being spoken. I do not wish for anything to get lost in translation.**

**Thank You!**

**RoseblossomWarrior****- I already sent you a personal thank you, but here is your public acknowledgement!**

* * *

Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 10

Several weeks had passed since Matsua's expulsion without incidence, and the routine of the compound settled back into its old ways. The drama of the weeks past were now but vague memories of the younger residents, and troublesome to some of the elder ones who had had the misfortune of being in its way. Horohoro was still waiting for a good time to ask Rin to marry him, but couldn't seem to find the ideal time to do so. He shivered in his boots at the thought of going back home to a sister who was fiercely determined to have a sister-in-law, and was quite afraid that she would then promptly come down and ask Rin herself. He wanted to avoid this aforementioned scenario at all costs.

It actually seemed to him that he and Rin were spending less and less time together than before. This disturbed him greatly, as he noticed that Lyserg and Gwen got to have more time together, despite their protests at observations that they were indeed a couple. (Of course, it could just have been the fact that Gwen could only easily communicate with maybe a grand total of three people in the entire place, Lyserg included).

But whatever. In the past, Horohoro may have been interested in barging in and making fun as much as he could when he was slightly younger, but right now, he had his own relationship to think about! Part of him wished that Ryu was here with them to spout off random (and sometimes not-so-helpful) love and relationship advice. He never thought there would be a day when he would miss that, but alas, this was the day. Maybe he should call him? No, he was off furthering his career in sushi or something of the sort. No need to pull the man away from one of his favorite pastimes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Horohoro caught flashes of light and color. Turing his head to get a better look, he saw Gwen and several brightly colored, translucent glass balls. Moving them expertly in her hands like a juggler, lights melded together and created patterns that were hard for the eye to catch at times. He could have sworn that human shapes were part of the parade, but it was hard to tell. He wanted to ask her about it, but remembered the language barrier. Ah well, couldn't use that excuse forever. Jumping off of the porch he was perched on, he made his way to where Gwen was standing. She looked as if she were deep in thought, as a slight frown adorned her face. Catching her attention with a plain "hey" he motioned in a way of inquiry towards the balls. Rather elegantly, Gwen smiled and offered him one.

Accepting the gift, Horohoro studied the delicate orb nestled comfortably in the palm of his hand. Being the shaman that he was, he could feel that inside was a spirit calmly floating about, entranced by the mesmerizing color of its home. Awed, and somewhat disturbed at the thought that she could trap spirits and keep them in this hypnotized state, he handed it back to her. Summoning all the knowledge of the English language that he had learned while in America, he decided to go ahead and make conversation anyway. It was only polite.

"So how do you do it? I mean, surely these spirits didn't get trapped in there for their own amusement."

"Not all the time, no" she replied. "Most of the time, they are spirits who cause trouble, like poltergeists and whatnot, that people have me trap. I'm pretty sure I still have another shaman's spirit trapped in one of these somewhere." She let out a giggle at Horohoro's horrified face. "Don't worry, it's only those who abuse their powers and don't deserve it. And some just get trapped there by accident. I kinda hate it when that happens, because then I have to break the glass to release them and have to make another."

Horohoro looked down at the object in his hand and suddenly felt very sorry for the spirit inside, even if it did feel happy. He quickly handed it back to her. "I don't think I could ever do that, trap another soul until you need it. It'd make me feel like Hao."

Gwen suddenly narrowed her eyes. "I'd thank you not to compare me to him. I don't eat these souls. I'm merely a custodian." The frown that had previously adorned her face was back once again. "I've been meaning to ask, just exactly how much did Lyserg hate him?"

Taken aback by such an abrupt question, Horohoro was unable to answer for a few minutes before giving a stumbling reply. "Well, enough that he left us to join the X-Laws, and freaks out when he's even mentioned, if that's any indication. Why? Don't you know? I figured you'd been hanging around him long enough."

"Oh, sure, he talks about it sometimes, but I mean before this all started." She sat down on the grass with a thump. "You've probably noticed, but he's been in a mood lately. From what little he told me, he got into a fight with that red headed guy and called him small, just like he was called by Hao. I think he's worried that he's becoming like him. I've told him that it was a bunch of crap, but my words just fall on deaf ears."

Horohoro plopped himself down beside her. "I don't have all the right things to say. The others are better at that than me, not going to lie. But he wanted to be like his dad, a detective, or whatever. When he died, I think he just lost it. Don't give me that look, I don't mean that he's nuts, I mean that even at such a young age, I think he had a pretty set idea of what he wanted his life to be like. When that was taken away, he focused on the closest thing to take his anger out on without realizing that it could potentially turn him into a form of what he was fighting."He paused. "Not quite sure that made a whole lot of sense. I'm sure there's a psychological term for it."

Gwen propped her head on her knees. "I get the gist. A 'you are your worst enemy' kind of thing, right?"

"Uhmm, maybe..?" he ventured. "But what I mean all-in-all is that in the end, Hao didn't die, is living in Yoh's house, and Lyserg has to live with that, and the fact that he can't attempt to kill him anymore. That's enough to drive anyone nuts. Perhaps calling Matsua small was an unconscious way of coping."

"I just wish he'd get over it sometimes. I know I'm still angry over the fact that we were abandoned on the island and left to rot in caves before we could escape, but I don't go around letting everyone know about it."

"Wait, you were left on the island? For how long?"

She waved the question off. "Not important."

The two fell into silence. The sun was starting to set and lanterns were beginning to be lit for the night. Horohoro got up and brushed debris off of his pants. "Well, I'd better go check on things and make sure everything is ok before we settle in for the night." He started to walk away before stopping to turn back to look at Gwen. "Um, hey, I don't know if I should tell you this or not, but, well, we heard something about Lyserg's…" His words were cut short by a loud explosion by the gate.

* * *

Rin had just bid goodnight to the wood worker as he left from repairing the floor when the earth shook with a deafening roar, throwing her to the ground. After recovering her wits, she could hear the cries of frightened children and the sounds of battle that made her blood run cold and her limbs numb. Forgetting to slip on her shoes, she tripped down the steps and ran as fast as possible towards the sounds. Stopping only to pull out her beads and call Orikir, she quickly glimpsed a familiar shade of blue working to put out the fires that had sprung up. Satisfied that he had not been caught in the blast, Rin stopped any of the older residents to spread the word to the others to help defend and get the youngest to safety before moving further into the fray.

She had almost forgotten what it was like, the colors of individual mana clashing against each other and the determination to survive. Dodging a wayward projectile, Rin was momentarily confused as to who was attacking and who was defending. Were those shaman? The fights were over, this was a peaceful place, a threat to no one; why did they decide to attack now? A girl that appeared to be around her age leapt forward with a wicked-looking dagger sheathed in a strange combination of pink mottled with grey, drawing it back in preparation to stab forward. On instinct, Rin oversouled and blocked the girl's wild attack before Orikir took over and buffeted her with his powerful wings.

"They're not even thinking." He observed as the girl fell unconscious. "I'm not even sure she is a shaman. Look at her oversoul." He was right. Even unconscious, the odd oversoul was still present.

"We can't think about that right now. We need to regroup and find the others."

"You mean find Lover Boy." Orikir stated flatly. Rin blushed.

"You know quite well what I mean! Now is not the time for your jokes!" She summoned him back and started running once again.

"Sensei!" A shrill female voice called out to her. Spinning around, she discovered Mizu desperately dodging her attackers. It was common knowledge that Mizu was not a fighter, as she would frequently get distracted by the voices she said she could hear on the wind. Rin utilized her only ranged attack to knock one attacker back from the poor girl, before the other quickly lashed out, striking Mizu across the face, effectively bringing her to the ground.

"Mizu!" Starting to get properly angry at the invasion of her home, Rin lashed out in turn, not completely thinking it through. She could hear Orikir scolding her in her head and ordering to pay attention to her surroundings, but all she could think about was putting down the one who hurt her friend. No, not friend, family. As one thought turned into another, all she could think about and see was Mitoko being cut down on that beach so far away in a different lifetime. "Get out of here!" She screamed. "You don't belong! I'll kill all of you myself if you hurt any of them!" Pouring all of the mana she could into her next attack, everything turned black.

* * *

**What's better than explosions? More explosions! Oh, Orikir, always talking at the most inconvenient times. I've actually missed writing his character. He's so delightfully snarky.**

**It's been so long since I've written an action scene.**

**Since I'm ignorant of the original characters language skills, I'm going to get over the language barrier between major characters as realistically as I can. I really don't want to have to resort to a magic spell or something as an easy out, but it's going to have to be a relatively short process. Suggestions of how to do this efficiently is appreciated!**

**As I was writing the scene of Gwen and her witch balls, I was suddenly reminded of **_**Labyrinth **_**and the balls David Bowie has. Please note that these balls and those balls are completely unrelated. I am so sorry if that sounded wrong :/**

**Review my Children! It brings a giddy feeling to my heart! :D**


	12. Chapter 11

**I'm not gonna lie, when I had to re-read the part in **_**Pretty**_** when Mitoko was killed and then write the final scene in the last chapter, I almost burst into tears myself. That was so long ago, it almost appears to me that it was written by someone else, but looking back at all that has happened in my life since then, it almost was.**

**Thank you to all who reviewed! Just to allay some fears (if I neglected to do so already) this will not be a HoroxLyserg or any other pairing as such. I couldn't even write it if I tried! Lol**

**In case you're wondering "When did Rin start using her beads again? Weren't those taken away from her?" In short, yes, they were. I realized my mistake when I posted the chapter, so the unofficial back story here is that Lyserg salvaged them for her.**

**Autocorrect has spoiled me…**

* * *

Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 11

Though the fighting had been fierce, it was over quicker than expected. The odd shaman who had attacked turned and fled, pursued by the Mountain fighters. When all was said and done, word was spread of the all clear and a head count commenced. By the first haphazard count, it seemed that no one had been killed, but a goodly number were injured. Horohoro walked hurriedly to find his friends. He hadn't seen Rin or Lyserg during the fighting. Gwen had of course been next to him, smashing her witch balls to release whatever spirit was trapped there, her spirit Lucy in turn using them to cast her own unique spells. She left to find Lyserg as soon as the fires broke out and he hadn't seen her since. "Yuki!" He called. "Get everyone into the main house and keep them there! Get any healers to start tending to the wounded!" He knew he didn't have to say it, as he could see many of those with the gift for healing already starting to stitch together wounds and helping others inside, but it made him feel better to say it anyway.

A flash of green in the corner of his eye revealed Lyserg trotting up out of breath, but very much alive. "I don't know what happened." He choked out. "I didn't feel anything coming. I don't understand. They didn't even register as shaman. They just felt…wrong."

"I know what you mean. Look at this." The two went over to a body and, using his foot, flipped it over. "He's dead, but the oversoul is still active. And the color is wrong. It looks…sick."

Lyserg studied the body. "I don't even think they were born shaman. Did you see the way they attacked?"

"Maybe their powers came into fruition later than usual? Ryu's did."

"Yeah, but Ryu wasn't unstable like this or have a sickly oversoul."

The two fell silent and thought about this unusual turn of events. "We better get back and find Rin. She's going to be pretty mad that her house was burned up."

* * *

The last thing Rin remembered was getting ready to attack the two 'shaman' that were attacking Mizu. Had she passed out? Sitting up from her prone position on the ground, she winced as she felt the pain blossom in her head. _No, I must have hit my head somehow…._ Taking care not to aggravate her head any more than she needed, she brought a hand to her head only to have it stop short. _Handcuffs?_ Yes, she could see now that her hands were bound in metal cuffs. Starting to panic, Rin took a better look at her surroundings: white walls, barred door, a cot in the corner and a toilet. It looked rather like the asylum rooms Mizu once described. Is that where she was?

Pushing herself off of the floor, Rin made her way to the door and looked out of the small window. All along the corridor were doors such as hers and she could see others looking out just as she was. So far, none of the faces registered as familiar to her. Giving up, she made her way to the cot and sat down. It seemed like hours before the metal door unlocked and a man in glasses and a doctor's robe with two escorts entered.

"Matsumura Rin, I assume? Former Shaman Fight participant and follower of the terrorist Hao along with her cousins Mitoko, and Yayoi; the former deceased, the latter alive, location currently unknown." he droned, reading from the clipboard in his hand. Flipping a page over, he continued. "Current fiancée of one Usui Horokeu…" Rin choked at this. The man stopped at looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "Is something funny?"

"No, just that however you got it, your information is wrong. I'm not engaged. And I was never a follower of Hao." _At least completely willingly, but they don't need to know that…_

He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Really? Because according to this, you not only fought for Hao, but went back to him when you had numerous opportunities to defect, and it was our understanding that your marital status was in transition. No? Too bad, we really could have used that to our advantage." Rin's heart stopped at that. He made a few notes before tucking the board under his arm.

"You may call me Dr. Z. Due to the secrecy of this facility and the…abilities…of its occupants, anonymity is for both our safety and yours. Please do not try to use your powers in any form or fashion, as such actions will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. Your familiars are beyond your reach, so there is no point in calling for them either. Your bonds will be removed, but replaced when you are escorted elsewhere or if there is the slightest hint of rebellion. Do you understand?" Rin could tell that this was not the first, or the last time, this man would make that speech.

"I really have no choice but to, now do I?" The two escorts shifted at her tone, but relaxed when Dr. Z held up a hand in reassurance.

"I shall let that one slide, for now, as you are new here and do not yet understand your place. From now on, you will be addressed as Subject 208. I will leave you now so you may change into the clothes provided. There is no need to fear, you are perfectly safe here." Turning his back and exiting, one of the escorts reached forward and undid the cuffs before following Dr. Z out and locking the door behind him.

Rin curled her legs against her chest and rested her head on her knees, thinking of a way to figure out where she was, and, if possible, escape. Her mind flashed back to that day on the beach.

_It looks like we're 'patients' after all_. She thought as she heard voices from the cell next door.

"You may call me Dr. Z…"

* * *

**Whee! I'm excited! Another update! I'm writing this while on vacation, so there should be more than one chapter posted after this. I'm hoping to get at least 2 more.**


	13. Chapter 12

**12, 12, lovely 12! I wrote these 2 new chapters during my family vacation & we have no Internet there (personal choice), so it is only now that I can post them. I hope you all enjoy!**

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 12

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Horohoro fumed. "How many are we missing?" He cursed again when the number rang out. "Is that why we were attacked? Just to be kidnapped?" The remaining shaman gathered in the main hall looked up in horror as Horohoro's voice echoed through the room. Lyserg ran a hand over his brow and tried to calm his friend.

"I'm as upset as you, but there's no need to get everyone else in a panic."

Horohoro pointed a finger at him. "You! Can't you at least see where they are?"

Lyserg held his hands up in defense. "Of course I can! I just haven't had the time to do it! In case you forgot, we've been rather busy putting out all of the fires and getting everyone calmed and accounted for!"

"Then do it already!"

"I'm going!"

Horohoro felt bad for yelling at his friend like that, but he needed results. As far as anyone could see, Rin, Mizu, Peter, and Gwen were the only ones missing, and as glad as he was that only four were gone and not more, he was angry that they had allowed it to happen in the first place. He couldn't remember the last time he was this angry. Yuki timidly approached the elder shaman before speaking.

"Shihan, there are a few who need to be taken to a proper hospital. We can't help them with what we have…" Horohoro could hear the tears in her voice, but nevertheless made his decision.

"No, we can't take them to a hospital. If the point of this attack was to take some of us, we can't risk them being taken away at the hospital. Besides, too many questions would be asked and people would get suspicious. I have a doctor friend. He can take care of them." Yuki nodded and went back to her duties. "Why don't we have a phone?" he groused. Walking outside, he found Lyserg concentrating on his dowsing with the help of Morphine.

"Wherever they are, they are currently out of range, or being exceptionally well hidden." He released his oversoul with a sigh.

"We need to go to Funbari and get Faust. He can help us take care of the wounded."

"What about Yoh? He should know about this. I told him about this sort of thing when I saw him last."

Horohoro froze as Lyserg's words sunk in. "….What?" he started slowly. "What did you just say?"

"It's the reason Gwen and I came to Japan in the first place. Back home, shamans were going missing and I passed that info to Yoh in case he started hearing about it happening here. I didn't think it'd follow us." He trailed off.

"You mean to tell me that you brought your business with you? I thought you were smarter than that! If shaman are going missing in your part of the world, don't you think that you may have been identified as well and followed? If you're sick, you just don't spread it around to others!"

Lyserg hopped to his feet, equally angry. "So this is my fault? How was I to know? I came because I thought Yoh would be able to help put a stop to it! We weren't even going to come here in the first place! _I_ was going to stay at Funbari, but no! _Hao_ had to be there as well! And did you ever once stop to consider that this may have happened regardless of if I were here or not?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you even noticed the behavior of some of the shaman here? Namely, the one that you just kicked out?"

Horohoro blinked. "Matsua? Are you telling me _he_ was the one who started this?"

"I don't know, but think about it: he shows up, causes nothing but trouble, disappears, tries to pick a fight with _me_, and then gets kicked out. Not a day passes before we practically get blown up!"

Horohoro rubbed his eyes. "Great. Now on top of everything else, we have to look for one red headed bastard."

"Forget about him for now and focus on what's going on. Who is going to stay here and look out for everyone? Should they even stay here? Do they have anywhere else to go?"

"No, a lot of them have nowhere else to go, and most can't be moved anyway. Once we get Faust and the others here, we'll be a lot safer having more experienced people around."

"I'll go. You know the run of this place better than I."

"What about Hao?"

Lyserg bristled at the name. "I'll put up with him. I hate to say it, but he could be useful. I don't think he'll like the idea of humans killing us anymore than we do."

"Alright, but just be careful and don't take too long."

"Believe me, I won't."

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"And he is back to bask in the glory of my presence!" Hao crowed as he saw his brother's friend enter the room. "You couldn't stay away? Where is your pretty friend? Don't tell me you bored her to death!"

Lyserg bit back a retort and instead focused on speaking to Yoh. "We need to borrow Faust. There was an…incident, up at Rin and Horohoro's place."

Yoh stopped smiling and put Hana down before telling him to go find his mother. "What kind of 'incident'?" he ventured. Listening to the tale, his normally good-natured face turned into one of disgust. "They couldn't leave us alone, could they?" He shook his head sadly. "I won't assign blame, but how do we know that they won't come here next?"

"We don't. I think that for now, we should all stay together. I can understand if you don't want to leave or get involved, given your son and all…"

"They can stay at my parent's house for a while. It's pretty safe, and Anna still has Zenki and Kouki."

"Only because I was gracious enough to let her keep them." Hao put in.

"I think it's because you're just a good guy!" His brother smiled. Hao just waved it off.

"I would help, but I'm afraid I have other matters to attend to." Hao continued. "No, don't give me that look, Yoh, as always I have my own agenda and going along with you does not play into it. I bid you a humble farewell." Before anyone could object, he was gone.

"Hmph, typical." Lyserg scoffed. "I wasn't expecting him to help anyway."

Yoh got up off the floor and dusted his pants off. "So, Faust, huh? I'll go get him. I'm sure we can get the others to come too." As he left, the back door slammed shut and a mass of black hair poked itself around the corner.

"Danna, what's going on? Some random guy attacked me while I was on the road. Luckily, he didn't do any damage. So I stopped by the market and picked up some….LYSERG!"

Lyserg inwardly flinched at the loud voice before composing himself. "Hi, Ryu"

The larger man set down the bags he was carrying. "What brings you this way? Why didn't you call?"

"I've been here a while, Yoh said you were out traveling. I don't come in happy company, unfortunately."

"I WILL NOT BE RUN OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Anna's voice boomed throughout the inn.

"But, Anna, it's to make sure you and Hana stay safe…" Yoh pleaded. The two men in the living room stayed deathly still as the two negotiated for several minutes.

"Fine, we will take a trip to visit the grandparents. That's it. A _visit_." A collective sigh was released.

Yoh eventually came back with Faust in tow. "So, to Rin's?"

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**Yoh seems like the kind of guy who would always be holding/playing with his kid. Oh, Ryu "I got attacked, then afterwards decided to go to the grocery." This man has his priorities straight! lol**


	14. Chapter 13

**We're going to be going into a lot of perspectives here…**

**Yeah, I've been gone for a while. Classes. Life. Homework. Sick. So on and so forth. I'm really eager to finish this. I don't want to leave it incomplete for those who wish to see the ending. I had to reread what I have of the story so far so I could get back into the mindset and remember where I was. With 2 other scripts I have to write, things tend to get a bit jumbled. :/**

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Red Sky at Morning

Chapter 13

Days passed in the same manner as all of the others: woken early, taken around to various exam rooms to be examined, interviewed, and generally humiliated before being taken back to her 'room' and given a breakfast of…oatmeal? Rin couldn't say for sure. All she knew was that she hadn't seen anyone she was familiar with besides the so-called Dr. Z and his cronies. It was interesting to her to discover, through no fault of her own, that the two men who escorted the good doctor were shaman as well. He found this "..fascinating, very fascinating. More exams are needed."

Thankfully, she had not been hurt yet by these examinations, but she did hear the cries of the others who had apparently been here longer and saw them as they passed by her window. The poor things looked utterly miserable and broken, not that they could be blamed, and she had heard, rather than saw, firsthand how rebellion was put down (let's just say she wasn't looking forward to being on the receiving end). All she wanted to do was get out and find Horohoro.

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Gwen woke in the same manner as Rin, not that she was aware of it, and interrogated by Dr. Z. She couldn't help but giggle at his name: to her it sounded like a Bond villain. Deciding to play on the stereotype, she resolved to speak in the strongest Southern accent she could physically manage, and perhaps throw in a bit of Dorian's Creole here and there, just to confuse her captors some more. If she was going to go down, she might as well go down swinging.

"So, I understand that you, your father, and a family friend were together on the island during the assault and remained there for several weeks afterwards. Tell me, how did you survive that long?"

She shrugged. "Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then."

"Is this how you usually respond to pressure? By throwing out vague phrases and speaking in an accent you are not native to?"

"I do declare! You are barking up the wrong tree! I am a respectable Southern belle and it is not like me to go back on my raisin! My mother always told me that you should never bite off more than you can chew. Every dog should have a few fleas and I am no exception."

Dr. Z seemed unfazed. "Yes, your mother. She and your father divorced when you were young and you were given to your father to raise and train as a shaman. She has no powers, correct? I can understand why she would want to separate herself from that environment."

Gwen inwardly growled, but refused to let this…man…know that he had ruffled her feathers. He was correct in the reason her parents had split and she understood why they had. She really did. It didn't mean she had to like it.

"What exactly did your training entail? How do you use these?" He brought forth one of her witch balls. "I understand you can trap spirits in these. Is there one in here now? Show me."Dr. Z stretched out the colored glass to her. Gwen eyed it warily. There was indeed a spirit in there, and she was debating the wisdom of taking it and releasing it. On one hand, he could be sincere and purely interested in seeing how it worked; on the other, it could be a trap and the punishment for rebellion he spoke of would fall on her head, just to make an example of her.

Gingerly, she took the ball and looked Dr. Z in the eye. "How do I know this isn't a trap? How do I know that you won't punish me for using my power and use me as an example for the rest?"

Dr. Z smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes. "I can assure you that this is for purely academic reasons and that you will not be punished. In fact, the more you cooperate, the sooner you can go home."

"Now, why is it that don't I believe you?"

He sighed in feigned frustration. "You shaman are so hypocritical. You say that we _humans_ fear what we do not understand, yet you do the same thing when it comes to others not like you. Is my word as a human not good enough?"

"Oh, it's not that. I just tend to be a little skeptical of people who kidnap me and put me in what appears to be a nut house, gives me a power source, and then promises me my freedom at a later date if I cooperate." Gwen rolled her eyes. "I do watch TV and read, you know."

Dr. Z sat back into his chair and pushed his glasses further up onto his face. "I apologize for the kidnapping, but let us be honest: would any of you have come willingly if asked to be a part of this experiment?"

Gwen snorted in derision, "What do you think, idiot? There have been enough of us put into asylums or hospitals for just even the mention of talking to and seeing ghosts. Not to mention the negative stereotypes. My kind has been around the block a few times, if you get me."

The good doctor scribbled a few notes onto his clipboard, seemingly ignoring her. Batting her nails against the bed frame as annoyingly as possible, she discreetly cracked the witch ball just enough to weaken it and wake the spirit inside from its tranquil state. She hoped it was a bad one. _Time to wake up._ She placed the precious object as far away from her on the bed as possible and folded her hands in her lap innocently. "I won't show you. I'm not gonna do anything until I know more about what's going on here."

One of the orderlies picked up the ball and stuffed it into a pocket. Dr. Z put down his clipboard and looked her in the eye. "What we are doing here is none of your concern. Just cooperate and it will all be over soon." Getting up, he motioned for the others to follow and left, locking the door behind him. Once he left, Gwen jumped off of the bed and went to the window in the door, peering out. She honestly didn't know how long it would take for the spirit to break free or if the crack would even be noticed. She mentally chided herself as it occurred to her to have told Z that the ball had been empty, as it was new. It wouldn't have been a total lie. Then again, she reasoned, if she had and it broke loose, she'd be in even more trouble than she most likely would be. The orderlies looked rather ham-fisted; maybe one of them would be blamed for cracking it.

_Nothing more to do now than wait._

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Dr. Z moved wearily down the white hall, the fluorescent lights doing nothing to help his headache. This new batch of subjects was proving to be stubborn, to say the least. Oh, they all were, but this group seemed to be made of tougher stuff than those taken off of the streets. They had been picked up at a known haven for shaman and most of them were in the documented "Fights," as they were called. A brief surge of anger passed through him when he remembered the day the news came in that his co-worker had been killed on a beach there. They had never really talked, but it was the principle of the matter!

At first, he was not sure as to why Oyamada was interested in shaman, but when the first couple of subjects were shipped in he understood: they were _fascinating_. In fact, he was a bit jealous of them: they had all of this power inside of them that no human like him could ever have. Quickly, he put the thought away. It was not professional and he had to get to the wing where some non-shaman were being held. He regretted this part of the program, but it was necessary and those who managed to obtain some semblance of shamanic power needed extra care and testing, as they were still rather unstable. Those that had been sent out had been deemed the most stable thus far, but even then, most of them did not return and those who did almost immediately broke down. It had pained him to have to put them down. He had personally felt that they could have been of scientific value, but Oyamada had been clear: start again.

With a sigh, Dr. Z slid his access card through the reader to the human wing.

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**So there you go: a little insight into what is going on conspiracy-wise, if you had not already guessed. Not as long as I was hoping it would be, but that is just how it worked out. Once again, it is midnight and that seems to be the time when my brain decides to say, "I'm going to be awesome! I'm going to think of a bunch of stuff you can write about ALL NIGHT!"**

**From what I remember (and looked up) I'm sure those phrases Gwen use is correct, more or less. I particularly enjoyed writing her scene. I've always wanted to do that! XD**

**A Southern saying guide:**

"**Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then" =everyone is lucky at one point or another**

"**Go back on my raisin" =deny your heritage**

"**Every dog should have a few fleas" =no one is perfect**

**Review, if you would be so kind!**


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